Men's Soccer

Q and A with alumnus Nick Kowba,assistant GM for MLS's Houston Dynamo

Your thoughts on your alma mater and the $90 per quarter exploration vote to keep athletics?

For me, I wouldn't be where I'm at if I wasn't involved in college athletics. Playing there had a big impact on my life.

It was very important to me and would be a shame if a UC school does away with athletics.

Howdid you get started working in MLS?

I started in 2004 with the Earthquakes as Grassroots Soccer Coordinator through contacts Paul had with the Quakes.

What's your official role with the Dynamo as assistant GM?

I work closely with our General Manager in the overseeing the soccer operations side. Every day is different and day-to-day involves a little bit of everything.

You got your new stadium in 2012 after the franchise's move in 2006. It probably wasn't easy being nomads there?

It was a long process, with the move. The goal obviously was to get a stadium. It took a little longer than we liked but it is very beautiful. It rivals any stadium in the world and we love the downtown setting

There were a lot of hurdles along the way so we definitely earned our stadium.

What's your impression on Owen Coyle? He seems not afraid to experiment as a head coach this season.

I think he's just looking to add a boost and change things up, so he's doing everything to light a fire under the guys.

What's on tap for Houston this coming weekend?

We play Real Salt Lake at home. Our USL affiliate, Rio Grande Valley, also has a game Friday.

I have a big role with that team as well, and we're looking at getting a new 10,000 seat stadium built.

Are you disappointed RGV won't be in the Open Cup?

Ultimately we control the technical side there, so we didn't think it was fair to compete against our team and it would be like controlling 2 teams in the same tournament

The important thing is we want to be treated like other MLS teams and their second teams not involved in the tournament. It's a hybrid setup with Houston and Rio Grande, but it's the same where we control the technical aspects of both teams.